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Jennings' knee now feels 'good'

ST. PETERSBURG -- Desmond Jennings is on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 12 with a left knee sprain, so he won't be eligible to play again until May 27.

Thus, Jennings will miss seven more games. The good news comes in how Jennings now feels "good."

The Rays left-fielder actually smiled when asked about his condition prior to Saturday afternoon's game.

"I think I'll definitely be ready when it's time to come off [the DL]," Jennings said.

Rays manager Joe Maddon wasn't sure if Jennings will need to play in a rehab game or two prior to returning to the team.

"If we can we might want to have him [play in a game] if he's able to prior to his date, the due date to get him back out there and going," Maddon said. "But [head athletic trainer] Ronnie [Porterfield] was pretty positive that it would not be much longer than the minimum amount of time to do all of this."

Much of what Jennings does well on the field involves his speed, which was a factor that played into the cautious approach the Rays have taken for his return.

"Why push his legs right now if that's one of the biggest parts of his game?" Maddon said. "So we did, we wanted to be cautious with it. ... We thought it was going to be a little bit sooner and so we kept doing the pinch-hitting thing. Because there was a time when we thought he'd actually be able to DH and not play the outfield, but it just did not work out that way. ... I really don't anticipate a lot of lingering effects."

ST. PETERSBURG -- Desmond Jennings is on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 12 with a left knee sprain, so he won't be eligible to play again until May 27.

Thus, Jennings will miss seven more games. The good news comes in how Jennings now feels "good."

The Rays left-fielder actually smiled when asked about his condition prior to Saturday afternoon's game.

"I think I'll definitely be ready when it's time to come off [the DL]," Jennings said.

Rays manager Joe Maddon wasn't sure if Jennings will need to play in a rehab game or two prior to returning to the team.

"If we can we might want to have him [play in a game] if he's able to prior to his date, the due date to get him back out there and going," Maddon said. "But [head athletic trainer] Ronnie [Porterfield] was pretty positive that it would not be much longer than the minimum amount of time to do all of this."

Much of what Jennings does well on the field involves his speed, which was a factor that played into the cautious approach the Rays have taken for his return.

"Why push his legs right now if that's one of the biggest parts of his game?" Maddon said. "So we did, we wanted to be cautious with it. ... We thought it was going to be a little bit sooner and so we kept doing the pinch-hitting thing. Because there was a time when we thought he'd actually be able to DH and not play the outfield, but it just did not work out that way. ... I really don't anticipate a lot of lingering effects."